One Piece

Episode 780

One Piece has a slightly different relationship with filler than other long-running shows like Naruto and Bleach, in that there ultimately isn't that much, and when there is, it's fairly short. One Piece prefers to just slow down the manga content rather than spend a lot of time with lower quality stories, but considering how close the anime is to catching up to the manga, it's better safe than sorry. The show's been feeling a little extra stretched lately, so I'm counting on this break to benefit the upcoming canon arc for the best.

Enter the “Marine Rookies” arc. On their way to Whole Cake Island, the Straw Hats find themselves starved of food and vulnerable to the harsh world around them. This is mostly Luffy's fault, since he insisted on doing the cooking in Sanji's absence and then promptly destroyed the majority of their ingredients. The only pitstop they can find is a small island between Zou and Whole Cake (teased in a recent episode) that also happens to be a Navy base. Our heroes have been in this predicament before, as the de facto Best Filler Arc Ever, G-8, was also about the Straw Hats infiltrating a Navy base.

The focal point of this arc appears to be on select Marines who inhabit this base, a trio of young up-and-comers who served in a unit under former admiral Aokiji. I was impressed that they went ahead and included that detail, since Aokiji is such a significant and mysterious character in the big picture. This sits in the sweet spot of filler being able to flesh out the world without stepping on whatever toes Eiichiro Oda might intend to draw in the future. It also doesn't hurt that these kids have a lot of personality, and their interactions with other Marines are pretty interesting since they are, earned or otherwise, being treated as rambunctious wunderkinds.

Furthering the comparisons to the G-8 arc, this is a story where the Straw Hats don disguises in an attempt to sneak in and out of the base. However, unlike G-8, they're recognized within the episode and mayhem explodes pretty much immediately. It's nice to know that their growing infamy affects how easily they're able to get away with stuff like that. Specifically, their plan is tarnished at the hand of Zappa, one of the titular Marine rookies who has had the hots for Nami's wanted poster.

This filler probably won't last more than three or four episodes (they rarely do these days), so thankfully it won't keep us away from Whole Cake Island for too long. While we're here, however, I'm pleasantly surprised to see that all the pieces are in place for this to be a fairly strong one. The central characters seem pretty likable and well-defined, and they exist in an interesting place within the One Piece world. There's also nothing that strikes me as "off" or noticeably weird/perverse, which recent filler arcs almost always include. (BDSM control collars, a lady giant shrinking and growing inside Luffy and, oh geez, One Piece filler freakin' weird, you guys.) Fingers are crossed that it's smooth sailing until Whole Cake Island.

Wow! Hundreds of millions of dollars are flowing into the anime industry thanks to streaming! Is any of that money going to the people who actually make anime? Justin gets into it.― Custom Gundam asked: With ANN recently reporting that Crunchyroll royalties to the Japanese industry exceed US $100 million and also the huge amount recieved from global companies like Netflix and Amazon and also the va...

Take a journey back in time with Daryl Surat, when many people were introduced to anime through heartwarming films like My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies. But what forgotten gems lie sleeping in this long-ago year?― Every so often, I get questions regarding what the value is in observing what works of popular culture remain worth watching, decades after their creation. But nearly three m...

This beloved 2000s megahit is the newest to get a live-action update to the big screen, now available on Netflix after its theatrical run in Japan. Theron Martin finds out if this movie can live up to fans' expectations.― Fullmetal Alchemist was one of the most popular and successful anime/manga franchises of the 2000s, so the only surprise surrounding this live-action adaptation might be that it di...

Citrus has turned a few heads with its incestuous twist on lesbian romance. We suss out whether this makes for a juicy love story or just sour pulp.― Citrus has turned a few heads with its incestuous twist on lesbian romance. This week in anime, Michelle and Steve suss out whether this makes for a juicy love story or just sour pulp. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in...

Hiromu Arakawa's pastoral drama about the highs and lows of farm living at an agricultural college is a far cry from Fullmetal Alchemist, but just as rewarding. Rebecca Silverman has the details.― Hiromu Arakawa's agricultural coming of age tale's anime adaptation reached English-speakers long before now, which makes it feel like a real treat to finally get the chance to read the manga. Based roughl...

Paul discovers a hidden gem in a surprisingly lazy package with this lovely slice-of-life comedy. Plus, all this week's new anime releases and a brand-new Shelf Obsessed!― I've been working on putting together a Star Wars model kit recently, and holy heck that process is easier if you have a decent set of the appropriate tools. It's almost a relaxing experience when you don't have to threaten each ...

This attempt at a gritty action spectacle falls prey to confusing storytelling and baffling editing. Theron Martin examines what went wrong.― In the Summer 2016 Preview Guide, I gave the first episode of this manga adaptation a middling score, saying that it isn't without potential. Rarely have I looked back at a review and been more perplexed at what I wrote, as on a second view that first episode ...

There sure are a lot of gambling anime, but what's it actually like to gamble in Japan? Does anime paint an accurate picture? Justin gets into it.― Jake asked: I have recently been watching Kakegurui Compulsive Gambler on Netflix and it has me curious about gambling in Japan. Gambling is in a ton of anime from Samurai Champloo to Kaiji. Mostly I am familiar with the basic odd even dice game as well...

Mike digs into the legendary and idiosyncratic career of Ryousuke Takahashi, from Cyborg 009 to Armored Trooper Votoms to Phoenix.― A few weeks back, the Right Stuf folks were running some sort of cheap-o blowout sale, and one of the items for sale, along with a still-absurdly-large quantity of Geneon and ADV Films DVD backstock, was this hat. Yep, for just one dollar, you could be the proud owner o...

This adaptation makes great use of its difficult source material to tell a trapped-in-a-game/escape room story worth digging into. Rebecca Silverman explains why.― If you've played the original game of Ao Oni (“blue demon”) or watched the series of anime shorts, Kenji Kuroda's novelization may come as a surprise. That's not a bad thing, though – Kuroda's reimagining of the source material not only c...